System Bits: April 17


Smartphone microscopes transformed into lab-grade devices with deep learning UCLA Samueli School of Engineering researchers have demonstrated that deep learning techniques can discern and enhance microscopic details in photos taken by smartphones in order to improve the resolution and color details of smartphone images so much that they approach the quality of images from laboratory-grade mic... » read more

Choosing The Right Interconnect


Efforts to zero in on cheaper advanced packaging approaches that can speed time to market are being sidetracked by a dizzying number of choices. At the center of this frenzy of activity is the [getkc id="36" kc_name="interconnect"]. Current options range from organic, silicon and glass interposers, to bridges that span different die at multiple levels. There also are various fan-out approach... » read more

Artificial, With Questionable Intelligence


A common theme is emerging in the race to develop big machines that can navigate through a world filled with people, animals, and other assorted objects—if an accident is inevitable, what options are available to machines and how should they decide?   This question was raised at a number of semiconductor industry conferences over the past few weeks, which is interesting because this idea h... » read more

The Week in Review: IoT


Regulation The Consumer Product Safety Commission is accepting public comments on “potential safety issues and hazards associated with Internet-connected consumer products.” The agency is concerned about “unexpected operating conditions” with Internet of Things devices, along with hacking that could start fires through a stovetop or grill, and the potential compromising of home safety ... » read more

The Week In Review: Design


Market research firm IC Insights says fabless IC suppliers accounted for 27% of the world’s IC sales in 2017—an increase from 18% ten years earlier in 2007. U.S. companies accounted for the greatest share of fabless IC sales last year at 53% (down, however, from 2010's share of 69%). Since 2010, the largest fabless IC marketshare increase has come from the Chinese suppliers, which captured ... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: March 27


Equalizing batteries Engineers at the University of Toledo propose a bilevel equalizer technology to improve the life span of batteries by combining the high performance of an active equalizer with the low cost of a passive equalizer. "Whenever we are talking about batteries, we are talking about cells connected in a series. Over time, the battery is not balanced and limited by the weakest ... » read more

When AI Goes Awry


The race is on to develop intelligent systems that can drive cars, diagnose and treat complex medical conditions, and even train other machines. The problem is that no one is quite sure how to diagnose latent or less-obvious flaws in these systems—or better yet, to prevent them from occurring in the first place. While machines can do some things very well, it's still up to humans to devise... » read more

Deep Learning Market Forces


Last week, eSilicon participated in a deep learning event at the Computer History Museum – “ASICs Unlock Deep Learning Innovation.” Along with Samsung, Amkor Technology and Northwest Logic, we explored how our respective companies form an ecosystem to develop deep learning chips for the next generation of applications. We also had a keynote presentation on deep learning from Ty Garibay, C... » read more

The New Deep Learning Memory Architectures You Should Know About


Artificial intelligence (AI) has come a long way. While our parents grew up with the dream to one day roam with robots, today we are interviewing Sophia, a citizen of Saudi Arabia, who is also the first humanoid robot to be granted a citizenship in any country. Deep learning, a brain-inspired discipline of AI has been around for a long time but has only recently taken off due to abundant data, ... » read more

AI: The Next Big Thing


The next big thing isn't actually a thing. It's a set of finely tuned statistical models. But developing, optimizing and utilizing those models, which collectively fit under the umbrella of artificial intelligence, will require some of the most advanced semiconductors ever developed. The demand for artificial intelligence is almost ubiquitous. As with all "next big things," it is a horizonta... » read more

← Older posts Newer posts →